Winter With The Weasleys
by Invaderk
Summary: [RHr] It only takes a freezing cold river, a game called 'hocky' and some pepperup potion to make Hermione and Ron admit their feelings for one another. Light comedy and a sticky situation.
1. A Slippery Situation

A/N: This idea crept into my head as i was running by a river/lake one day. enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing... especially not Harry Potter

A/N: Notice that i switch around POV's sometimes, but i alwayd make a break before i do it. Switches are from Hermione to Ron, and back again... this is for the whole story, not just the chapter... I also feel obligated to apologize for errors ahead of time, for i feel that htere may be some glaring ones.

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**Winter with the Weasleys**

I was incredibly excited. I never let myself show exactly how excited I was about this, but on the inside, I was dancing. School so far, had been incredibly difficult – even for me. I figured that I needed a vacation – all of us did. Winter break had never seemed more appealing.

I had just finished stuffing the last of my books into my trunk when the door burst open and Ginny came into the room, dragging her trunk behind her.

"Come on, we're going to be late," she said hastily, abandoning her trunk at the door and grabbing mine.

"I know I know, I'm coming," I replied, taking my trunk from Ginny and levitating both of ours down the stairs.

Ginny gave me an exasperated look.

"I didn't think of that," she said, watching our trunks zoom down the stairs.

I smiled and replied, "That's what I'm here for."

We both put on our jackets as we reached the bottom of the stairs.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

My trunk reached the bottom of the stairs with a resounding _thud_, and I ran to catch up with it. Roaring with laughter, Harry send his trunk flying down the stairs with a flick of his wand, and Neville gave a startled cry as he jumped out of the way. The two of us met at the bottom of the stairs, and I gave him a pointed look.

"I didn't think of that," I said, turning my trunk right side up.

"That's what I'm here for," Harry replied with a smirk, and then looked up at the girls' staircase, "And here they come."

I looked up to see Hermione and Ginny's trunks floating gracefully down the stairs, with their owners close behind. My heart gave a not-so-alien jump as I saw Hermione come into view, zipping her navy windbreaker up to her chin. She stuffed her hands in her pockets, walked over with Ginny, and greeted us with a business-like smile.

"All systems go?" she asked, and the rest of us nodded.

"Brilliant," I said, and the four of us all levitated our trunks down to the Headmistress' office.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Professor McGonagall greeted us with a curt nod.

"Yes come in, come in," she said, hurrying us into the room, "I see you're all ready to go."

We all nodded, and she gestured to the fireplace, which roared to life.

"Miss Granger, you first, please."

I nodded, pinched some powder from the bowl McGonagall offered me, and threw it into the fire. I stepped in with my trunk, welcoming the sensation of warmth that crept up my otherwise cold, bare legs, and opened my mouth.

"The Burrow!" I said in a loud, clear voice, and I was whisked away.

I stumbled out of the fireplace with my trunk, but managed to keep my balance. The plump, motherly figure of Mrs. Weasley greeted me with a comforting hug.

"Hermione, so good to see you dear," she said, pulling my trunk out of the way as Ginny appeared in the fireplace.

Ginny stepped gracefully out of the fireplace with her luggage and dusted off her robes. Mrs. Weasley turned to dote upon her only daughter. I heard another whooshing sound, and stepped out of the way in time for Harry to come sliding out of the fireplace. He was covered I ashes, and his glasses appeared to be broken.

He stood up stiffly and dusted himself off, mumbling something that sounded like, "I hate floo transport."

Mrs. Weasley turned to deplore how thin Harry had become and repaired his glasses with a wave of her wand.

"There's no meat on you, dear," she said, dusting off his robes in a motherly way, "Go into the kitchen and get some soup."

Harry nodded gratefully and as soon as Ron appeared, just as gracefully as Ginny had, from the fireplace, the five of us marched into the small kitchen. I was hit with the smell of hot chicken soup, and no later had I sat down then a bowl was being pushed in front of me, and I was being encouraged to eat second helpings.

I looked across the table at Ron, who had a long noodle dangling from his mouth. When he looked up and saw me, he jumped slightly in his chair and slurped it up quickly. I put a hand to my mouth and giggled. He smiled back, his ears turning a slight shade of red. I had a swooping sensation in my stomach, one that did not seem all too alien to me now. After having a second helping of soup, I excused myself from the table to settle myself in for the week.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I watched her leave to room out of the corner of my eye, and then I turned to Ginny. She gave me a look of knowing and I focused my attention back on my soup. One serving. Two servings. Three servings. I belched loudly. My mother shot me a glare, but all the same asked me if I would like some more. I groaned, declined, and stood up, slouching slightly due to the fullness of my stomach. Harry got up also, thanked my mum, and together we left the room. I had decided upon seeing Hermione leave that I would have her before the end of vacation, if possible. Not in a sexual way or anything, I just want to date her, and maybe kiss her…

Harry and I chatted nonchalantly as we unpacked; about Quidditch, Vol – You Know Who, homework. And finally… Hermione. I talked about her as if I found nothing special about her, but I knew Harry wasn't oblivious. I also knew that he was slightly uncomfortable with the whole thing, and I couldn't exactly blame him. Unfortunately, I felt that I also needed his blessing to date his best friend, seeing as he was – erm, _polite_ enough to 'ask' if he could further snog my sister.

"You know, I erm, don't mind," Harry said, obviously trying to keep calmness in his voice.

"Huh?" I asked dumbly, standing up from my trunk with a pair of boxers in my hand.

"If you… I mean, I'm not saying that you do… but if you do fancy Hermione, don't let me stop you from dating her."

"Oh," I said, not quite knowing what to say, "Thanks… I think."

Just then, the door burst open and Hermione came in. her eyes fell upon the undergarments in my hand, and I hastily shoved them under my pillow.

"Would it kill you to knock?" I said angrily, and Hermione looked taken aback for a moment.

Then she put on her dignified face and replied, "Well, it's not like you're naked or anything!"

"I very well could have been!" I snapped.

"Well, then Harry wouldn't have been in here with you, would he?" she snapped.

I stood with my mouth slightly ajar for a moment before turning back to my work. Hermione stepped further into the room and shook the hair out of her face.

"Well, I came in here to ask if you lot would like to go ice skating with me later. The twins might stop by in a bit, and they said they'd be delighted." She said in a hard voice.

Harry perked up.

"Sounds good!" he said, but I just stood there.

"Ice skating?" I asked.

Hermione turned to me, and when our eyes made contact, I could have sworn that I felt something strange between us.

"You know, ice skating?" she repeated, but when she saw the look on my face she added, "I guess not. It's like roller skating, kind of. But I don't suppose you know what roller skating is, either?"

Hermione looked as if she weren't sure how to explain it. So, she transfigured a pair of my socks into what I presumed to be a pair of ice skates.

"Well, look here," Hermione said, coming closer to me with the 'ice skates'.

She pointed to the blade.

"You put these shoes on and you go out and kind of, well, slide on the ice with these."

When she saw my doubtful look she hastily added, "It's fun, I swear it."

"Alright, I'm in," I said, and Harry agreed.

An hour later, Harry, Hermione, the twins, Ginny, and I were trekking through the shallow snow with the skates slung over our necks. Before long, we reached the lake, which seemed to have gotten smaller since my last visit. Or maybe I had grown.

The sunlight reflected off the snow, but the air was cold.

Anyway, we tied on our shoes and I stepped out onto the ice for the first time. I fell almost instantly, and the twins, who were still on the sturdy ground, roared with laughter. Then, they stepped out onto the ice. George slipped, grabbed Fred, and both went tumbling to the cold ground. I laughed.

"Hypocrites," I said as Hermione skated gracefully over to help me up.

She grabbed my upper arm and helped me to my feet. I felt a swooping sensation again, and managed to hold back my desire to kiss her long enough for her to teach me how to skate. She was wearing a large green coat that looked awfully heavy, and I wondered how she could move. Harry and Ginny didn't seem to be having much problem with the whole skating thing; Harry was particularly good. I had a feeling that he just possessed a talent and grace for sports in general. Finally, after about twenty minutes, the whole lot of us were all able to skate all right, or at least stay up and move around.

Hermione conjured up six bent-looking sticks and a flattened ball, and proceeded to tell us about a game called 'Hocky.' After a brief explanation of how it was played, we tried it. None of us were much good, and the space that we were playing on was far too small.

"I know," George said, holding up his 'hocky' stick, "Let's go to the river!"

Ginny and Fred's faces lit up, but I could have sworn mine darkened. We weren't supposed to go to the river when it was frozen, especially with the intention of walking on it. However, my word meant little to nothing to the twins, and so we started off for the river, 'hocky' sticks and the puck in hand.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I could tell by the look on Ron's face that the river was not a place that was ventured to often, and that molly would probably have a protest if she'd heard about it. I opened my mouth to say something, but decided against it. It couldn't be that dangerous, after all.

Without bothering to remove our skates, we got off the ice and started walking to the river. We first stumbled though the woods a bit until the Burrow was no longer visible, and when we finally reached a clearing, it looked like a snowy opening of land. However, I knew from the sound of rushing water, that underneath the half inch of snow was ice; Ice probably as hard as the ice of the lake.

"Here we are!" Ginny announced, and rested her hands on her knees, for it had been a long hike to take in ice skates, and we were all winded.

"How do we know if it's safe?" Harry inquired.

Fred and George shared a look before hoisting up a surprised Ron by the armpits.

"Hey! Put me down!" Ron yelled in protest.

"Like this," Fred replied, and the twins flung Ron out onto the ice.

Ron landed on his front with a _thud_, slid for a few feet, but was otherwise okay. My expression was scandalized.

"He could have fallen through!" I exclaimed in shock.

"That was hat the test was for, Hermione," George explained, "if the ice was too thin, he would have fallen."

"But he didn't," Fred continued.

"So we can resume our game," George finished, and everyone stepped onto the ice.

Harry skated over to a grumpy looking Ron, who withdrew his wand and seemed to be deciding the best hex to use on his brothers. Harry whispered something to him, and Ron seemed to reconsider his thought and pocketed his wand.

We enjoyed our game of hockey on this vastly bigger surface area, and though I'm not much good at sports of any kind, I still had fun. After about an hour, patterns had been criss-crossed all over the snow-covered ice, and the twins, along with Ginny, seemed to want to retire.

"I'm going in; I cant feel my toes," Ginny stated.

"We're coming too," George said, "I can't feel my legs."

"Or my fingers," Fred added, skating to the river's edge and removing his shoes before putting on his boots.

"Blimey, how much did we fall?" George asked.

"Enough," Harry finished.

After the twins and Ginny had put on their proper shoes, Ginny turned to face Harry, Ron and I once more.

"You guys coming?" She asked.

I looked over at Harry and Ron, who were not looking as if they wanted to retire.

"Naw," Ron said, "We'll be back in a bit."

Ginny shrugged, waved goodbye, and left with the twins. When they had disappeared, I took a glance at Ron. His face was windswept and reddened. His maroon sweater and scarf clashed, as usual, with his hair, and his jeans were wet in the places where he had fallen. Harry also looked windswept, and his hair was untidier than usual. Both of them, however, were smiling and looking like they were having a good time. I myself was wearing an incredibly heavy jacket that my father had given me before I went to school in the fall. It was not an attractive jacket, but I was at least warm.

We passed around the puck for a while, and soon enough, we were firing it at each other mercilessly. Once, it almost hit Harry in the nose, and I had been hit in the shin badly enough to wonder if I was sporting a bruise. I was, however, happy that my jacket offered me such protection, as the puck hit me once in the stomach and bounced back off. The boys had stopped laughing, expecting me to double over, but I merely laughed.

"You can't beat me," I said in a voice unlike my own, and they charged at me again.

I didn't care that I was letting lose; I was having actual _fun._

I was laughing and talking with the boys when Ron sent a particularly fast shot at me, and not knowing what else to do, I ducked. The puck flew over my head and way far off to the south, down the river a bit into an untouched spot of snow.

"I'll get it!" I said breathlessly, and began to skate over to where the puck was.

I had only reached the puck and was about to pick it up when I heard a strange sound. I paused, and then with horror, realized that what I heard was ice cracking. My heart jumped, and I whipped around to locate the source of the sound. I hear the loud, penetrating sound again, and looked down at my feet to see a line forming in the ice.

"No!" I said, and started to skate away when the ice completely gave way beneath me.

I thought vaguely of my heavy jacket, and that I wouldn't be able to swim with it, and then the currant pulled me under. The last thing I heard was Harry and Ron, screaming my name before I was pulled into the icy depths.

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A/N: Next chapter will be posten in a few minutes' time. I already had it finished before i decided to post, so yeah.

Reviews are spectacular, but you might as well finish the story before reviewing.


	2. The Longest Minute

A/N: Final chapter! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing... especially not Harry Potter

Happy Reading!

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> > > > > > > 

I heard the ice crack, and my heart skipped a beat. Hermione whipped around, looking for the source of the break in the ice, but I knew that she was standing right on top of it. The ice cracked right underneath her, and I had already removed excess clothing such as my scarf and sweater to jump in after her, for I knew that she would be pulled under with that jacket of hers.

"Hermione!" Harry and I screamed in unison as she let out a shriek and plunged into the water.

Without thinking, I whipped out my wand and transfigured my skates into socks and started running for her.

"Ron!" Harry yelled, but I ignored his confused plea.

"Get something, a big branch!" I yelled over my shoulder, and Harry was off.

I reached the edge of the water, where Hermione was nowhere to be seen. The water was swirling and rushing threateningly, and I knew that she had been pulled with the currant. Knowing how dumb it was to do it, knowing I might not live to tell the tale about it, I dove right into the icy depths of the raging river.

My first thought as I hit the water was that I had been stabbed with a thousand knives. The water was so cold that I was paralyzed for a moment before remembering what I had to do. I forced my eyes open, and was glad for the brightness of the sun, which sent a little light into the water. I fought with the currant and broke to the surface to take a deep breath before plunging back into the abyss.

Using the light from the sun, I swam deeper into the river, all the while feeling as id my skin was being whipped by trained torture artists. I knew if I didn't hurry, my time would run out, and so would Hermione's. The next sequence of underwater events happened quickly, but it felt like a lifetime had passed me by.

I saw Hermione a little ways below and away from me, thrashing weakly in the water. Then without warning, she stopped moving all together and succumbed, which scared me. She was slowly being dragged to the bottom by her coat, and all the while being pushed along with the currant. I swam over to her and grabbed her around the waist in an attempt to rescue her. She was too heavy to carry up, and I was quickly losing oxygen. Her face was ghostly pale, and her eyes were closed. Her hair was floating eerily around her face. She was unconscious, as well as being pulled slowly away from me.

I tried to pull her up again, but the jacket was too damn heavy, so I did something I thought I would only do in my dry, safe daydreams – I unzipped her jacked and pulled it off. Without watching the coat float away, I grabbed her around the waist again and started to swim off to the hole in the ice.

At this point, I was wondering whether I could make it back before I passed out from lack of oxygen. My thoughts were becoming fuzzy, and my soaked socks were weighing me down. I thought briefly of Harry, who was probably pacing nervously at the edge of the water, and of the creatures that inhabited the river. My cheeks were filled with air, but I was still running on dangerously low amounts of oxygen.

My legs felt like blocks of led, weighing me down as the water froze them, and kicking them became more difficult. I was almost about to give up when I saw the hole in the ice, and Harry standing there, holding something in his hand. My lungs were about to burst when I reached the surface and gasped for air. The freezing air entered my lungs, and I coughed heavily as I struggled against the courant, which was stronger at the surface.

"Ron! Grab on!" Harry yelled, brandishing a large branch.

I grabbed it with my free hand, and Harry pulled me close enough for me to reach the edge. He grabbed Hermione out of my arms and dragged her over to safety before coming back to me. Harry took hold of my arm and pulled me out of the water.

On land, I sputtered and gasped for air, soaking wet. I must have been down there for a minute – the most I had ever held my breath for.

"She's not breathing!" Harry exclaimed, rushing back to Hermione's side.

I scooped her up and carried her over to the solid ground, where I laid her down carefully. She was, of course, soaked, but she wasn't breathing. Harry pointed his wand at her throat, muttered something, and all the water emptied from her lungs. She gagged and coughed violently without regaining awareness or consciousness. I sat her up, but she went limp as her coughing fit deceased. She opened her eyes for a moment, but only let out a groan before shaking, and finally falling back into unconsciousness. I sighed and looked up at Harry, who was pale as death.

"Should we start walking?" I asked him, and he gave me a strange look.

"Walking? Cant we apparate?" he asked, and I coughed again.

"Ministry protection," I wheezed, "Can't apparate on the property, and we're on the property."

Harry sighed, pushed a lock of frozen hair away from Hermione's face, and stood up. He picked up Hermione and hoisted her onto his shoulder. I fumbled in my pocket for a moment, but then let out an agonized cry.

"My wand!" I exclaimed in my cold, raspy voice, "I must have dropped it in the water! Mum's going to kill me! Oh bloody hell!"

"She'll be glad you're alive, mate," Harry said pointedly as we began walking back to the house, "After what we tell her."

I shrugged and pulled on my sweatshirt; it didn't help me to get warm. I hadn't realized up until this point just how freezing I was. I hugged myself to keep warm, but the coldness was penetrating every inch of me. I could see that my hair was frozen, and when I touched a piece of it, it made a cracking sound as the ice broke. I looked at my hand and saw that it was almost as white as the snow.

I thought that everything was going well besides that, so I didn't say anything to Harry. In fact, I offered to carry Hermione for a while, and when Harry asked if I was sure, I told him I was fine and not to fuss. I took Hermione in my arms and carried her as if she were my bride. She might have looked as if she was if her head weren't rolling lamely on her shoulders. She was shaking vigorously, and Harry wrapped her up in his sweatshirt and scarf, so that he was wearing only a long-sleeved shirt. He was alright though – he wasn't soaked to the core.

Everything was going fine and dandy, and then the convulsions started. Small at first, like a shiver here and there. Harry looked at me, concerned.

"You alright, mate? You look dreadfully pale. I'd dry you, but I don't know the charm for it."

I nodded, but I was unable to think straight now. I had become sort of drowsy and confused. Where was I, anyway? I held tighter to Hermione, although at the moment, I had lost perspective. Then I really started convulsing. Unable to stand any longer, I fell to the ground and dropped Hermione in the snow. I put my head between my knees for a second, and then rolled over and retched.

"Ron!" Harry yelled, falling to his knees and rolling me back over.

I moaned and felt my body shudder and my heart rate slow. With one last semi-unconscious look at Harry, I shuddered again and blacked out.

> > > > > > > > >

When I woke up, Harry was sitting on a chair beside me, his hands clasped together and his elbows on his knees. When he saw me, his face changed to one of relief.

"Hermione!" Harry said breathlessly, standing up quickly, "How do you feel?"

I sat up slowly and shook my head to wake myself up. I was in Ron's room, laying on a couch that had apparently been summoned. I looked over at the bed, but the curtains were drawn around it, blocking my view. I felt oddly congested.

"Fine," I replied slowly, looking around the obnoxiously orange room, "I feel fine. I little shaken, kind of ill, but I'm alright."

"Brilliant," Harry said, picking up a large, steaming cup on the bedside table.

He handed it to me and I took a sip. Immediately, I recognized it as the pepperup potion. I drained it in one long gulp, and steam gushed out of my ears. I sighed.

"What happened?" I asked Harry softly, and he sucked in a deep breath.

"Well, after you fell in," Harry started and I winced, "Ron dove in after you."

I felt a pang of gratitude towards Ron, and I vaguely wondered where he was before focusing on the story again.

"I swore he must have drowned, because he was under water for a minute at least. Then, he came up with you, and I pulled them onto the ice."

Harry shuddered.

"Ron must have been freezing, but I didn't know the charm to dry clothing so he had to stay wet. About halfway there, and it was a long walk, you know, he asked to carry you. I let him, thinking that it might warm him up a little. And then he kind of went rigid, and he fell over and retched." Harry continued, "Then he went into shock."

I gasped and covered my mouth, eyes wide.

"Where is he? Is he okay? Harry, shock can be fatal? What did you do?" I was yelling all of this at him, but fell silent as he tried to quiet me.

"I'll tell you if you just sit for a second!" Harry said, and I leaned back apprehensively, "I should have known he was experiencing hypothermia; he was showing a ton of the signs. Confusion, for one, and weakness… and he was colorless. So when he passed out, I knew. I grabbed him and ran with him to the Burrow, and dropped him off in Mrs. Weasley's care. Then, Mr. Weasley and I went out and got you. And that's all there is to it. You've been asleep all day – it's been about 24 hours since it happened."

"Where is he? Ron, that is," I said, peering out at Harry from between my fingers.

Harry stood up and gestured me to do the same. He walked over to the bed and pulled the hangings open. I gasped, and tears filled my eyes.

Ron lay in the bed with his feet propped up in the normal position for someone that was in shock. He was shirtless, but covered in so many blankets that it didn't matter.

"He hasn't stirred yet," Harry said, "he might take a while longer… maybe by tonight he'll be awake."

I nodded, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from the redhead. He had risked his life to save mine, and almost died in the process. I suddenly felt a strange feeling that I had not felt until now. It was something unconditional… love.

I watched Ron in his deep sleep for a few moments longer before turning back to Harry.

"Where'd you sleep last night?" I asked.

"Well, seeing as –" he started, but I sneezed violently, "seeing as we figured you both would be ill, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley decided it would be best to quarantine you two to the same room for the remainder of the time."

I raised my eyebrows at him, and he returned the look.

"Yes, I did do some persuading," Harry said, reading my mind.

I smiled at him.

"Responsible," I said quietly, now watching Ron, "I am responsible, as are my actions."

"Right," Harry said in a strangely mechanical tone, his eyes also fixed upon the sleeping Ron.

That night, I snuggled up on the couch in Ron's room with a book and a cup of hot cocoa. It was nearly eleven, and everyone else had retired to their beds – Harry in Fred and George's old room, Ginny in hers, and the parents in theirs. Ron was still asleep, and I eyed him before beginning to read. Unfortunately, my mind would not focus. I set the book down on the bedside table and looked at him, sleeping in the bed. Sipping my cocoa with my hands wrapped around the mug, I wondered what his thoughts had been when he had willingly plunged into the freezing water. He stirred, and I realized that I had been making a loud sipping noise as I enjoyed my cocoa. I set the mug down on the table and let my curiosity get the better of me. Picking up my wand from the table, I slid noiselessly out of the bed and crept over to Ron's side. I pointed my wand at the door and it clicked as it locked, but I was not sure why I had locked it. I got down on my knees in front of the bed and watched him sleep. He was lying on his back, but his head was turned, facing me. Ron's mouth was slightly ajar and his jaw was slightly crooked, and I could smell the scent of pepperup potion coming from his mouth. I smiled.

Suddenly, Ron gave a sudden intake of breath and stirred, and I nearly fell backwards. I got up and backed away a pace just as he opened his eyes. He looked around, sat up, and coughed. The blankets fell away from him, and I could see his less-than-muscular abs. I blushed.

"Wuzzgoinon?" Ron asked softly, curiously, looking at me, "Why are you in my room, wearing a sleeping gown?"

I looked down at my apparel and blushed again.

"Er," I started, but he decided he didn't need to know.

He swung his feet onto the floor and groaned, massaging his foot.

"Why are my feet asleep? Lack of blood flow?" he asked.

"You went into shock," I said quietly, and he jumped at the sound of my voice; he had apparently been asking rhetorical questions to himself.

"Oh," he replied quietly, "I guess I was cold."

I smiled in spite of myself.

"I'm not now though," he said, and my smile widened.

I walked over to him and gently forced him to lie down again. I covered him up to his waist with the blankets, and then sat on the edge of his bed.

"You saved my life," I said in a whisper, tears forming in my eyes, "you could have died."

Ron shrugged.

"It would have been worth it," he said, "your brains are worth more than mine."

"Don't say that!" I said, shocked, "You have plenty of good qualities."

"Oh yeah," he said looking up at me glumly, "what are they?"

"Well," I started, "You're a fun person, and loyal to the core. And, you've got brilliant logic for certain things, like chess."

Ron's expression turned somewhat smug.

"Yeah, I guess I am pretty loyal," he said, relaxing a bit, "How long have I been sleeping?"

"A bit over a day," I replied, "I woke up a few hours previous."

Ron nodded, and I sighed. He cocked his head in question.

"Ron, when I woke up and found out what you did for me, I realized something," I said.

"And what is that?" Ron asked, sitting up uncomfortably.

"That… that I can't really tell myself that I don't anymore. I can't tell myself that it's just a fleeting hormone because it hasn't been fleeting at all; it's lasted for a long time." I said.

"You can't tell yourself _what_, exactly?" Ron said, looking nervous.

"That I don't care," I said, "Ron, I think… I think I love you." I finished lamely.

He looked at me strangely for a moment, as if trying to see if I was lying or not. Slowly, he sat up and silently scooted closer to me, with his eyes on mine all the while.

"I think…" he said, but his voice faltered, "I think I love you, too."

Unable to do anything else, I flung my arms around him in a hug, not caring that he was half-naked. He fell back onto the bed, and I kissed him; just a soft, quick kiss. At first, he looked shocked, but then he smiled and kissed me back; a longer, more passionate kiss.

And then, of course, we both seemed to realize that he was half-naked and I was in a small nightgown, so I got up and starting walking back over to the couch. Halfway there, Ron chuckled, and I turned to see his watching me with a smile on his face.

"What?" I asked him, trying to suppress a smile.

"I should save your life more often," he said, grinning, and I smiled back.

With the consequences that had come out of this whole experience, I had to agree.

_FIN_

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A/N: Yay for finishing! Thanks for reading. 


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